Harness-saddle.



' No. 68!,940. Patented Sept. 3, 190i.

G. WALKER.

HARNESS SADDLE.

(Application filed Eu. 9, 1901.)

(No Model.)

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UNITED STATES GEORGE WALKER, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO RUBBER AND' PATENT OFFICE.

CELLULOID HARNESS TRIMMING 00., OF NEW JERSEY.

HARNESS-SADDLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 681,940, dated September 3, 1901.

Application filed March 9, 1901. Serial No. 50,430. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE WALKER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Saddles and Saddletrees Therefor; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to numerals of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in harness-saddles; and the invention has for its principal object to provide a saddle and novel construction of saddletree therefor which can be readily fitted to a horses back, and thereby provide a saddle which can be employed upon a horse with ease and comfort and without any danger of galling or producing a sore back.

A further object of this invention is to provide a saddle of the character above stated in which the saddletree comprises three main partsnamely, the two side plates and a central or gullet partall of which are pivotally connected, preferably in the manner of a hinge-j oint, thereby allowing of certain movements of the said side plates and permitting the saddle to be properly fitted upon the back of a horse. 7

A further object of this invention is to provide a novel construction of saddletree in which the central or gullet part is provided with a depression or recessed portion which is in alinement with the side plates to accommodate and permit of the arrangement of a continuous back-band over said gullet and the respective side plates without the necessity of skiving or cutting away any portion of the leather at either side of the band; and, furthermore, this invention has for its further object to provide a saddletree with lugs or projections on which the seat or cantle of the saddle can be placed and rest thereon away from the leather parts without touching said leather parts, thereby allowing said leather parts of the saddle to move backwardly and forwardly with the opening and closing motions of the saddle and avoiding all strain, as

well as buckling, of the leather with the move ments of the saddle when upon a horses back and fully overcoming the cracking of the enameled or patent-leather finish.

This invention therefore consists in the novel saddle and saddletree therefor which is .1

to be hereinafter fully described; and the invention also consists in the several novel arrangements and combinations of the various parts, all of which will be described in detail in the following specification and then finally embodied in the clauses of the claim.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a front view of a harness-saddle made according to the principles of my,

Fig. 3 is a top or plan view of the saddletree; and Fig.

4 is a longitudinal vertical section of the same, taken on line at 4 in said Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a vertical cross-section through one of the hinge-joints of the central or gullet part and one of the side plates of the saddletree. Fig. 6 is a detail view of the central or gullet part, with the cantle removed, and portions of the hinged side plates.

Similar numerals of reference are employed in all of the said above-described views to indicate corresponding parts.

In the said drawings, 1 indicates the complete saddletree, which consists, essentially, of three main parts-namely, the two side plates 2 and the central or gullet part 3. The said gullet 3 consists, essentially, of a bodyplate 4, having a pair of laterally-extending ribs or projections 5, whereby a recess or depression for the purposes hereinafter fully set forth is provided. Upon each projection or rib 5 is an arrangement of supporting lugs or studs 6, upon which rests the seat or cantle 7, the latter being held in place upon said lugs or studs 6 by means of a screw stud or pin 8. The said cantle is also provided with the usual opening 9 for the reception of the screw end of a rein or check hook, which is to be screwed into the screw-hole in one of the said ribs or projections 5.

Each rib or projection 5 of the central plate or gullet is provided with a pair of perforated ears or lugs 11, as illustrated. The two side plates 2 of the saddletree 1 are provided at their upper ends with correspondingly-arranged perforated ears or lugs 12, which are fitted against the sides of the ears or lugs 11, and the said plates 2 and gullet 3 are then pivotally connected in the manner of a hinge by means of suitable rivets or pins 13, all of which will be clearly evident from an inspection of Figs. 2 to 6, inclusive.

The side plates 2 are provided with the usual ribs or projections 14, the inner surfaces of which are in alinement with the inner surfaces of the ribs or projections 5 of the gullet 3, substantially as illustrated in Fig. 6 of the drawings. The said side plates 2 are also provided with the usual cross- I pieces or bridges 15, 16, and 17, the bridges 16 being provided with the usual openings 18 and l9 for the insertion of the terret-shanks and their nuts, respectively.

The pad-bottom 20, the skirt 21, to which are attached the billets 22, and the various other leather parts of the saddle are arranged about and secured in position upon the parts of the saddletree in the usual and well-known manner, the back-band 23 being placed between the ribs or projections 14 of the two side pieces 2, beneath the bridges 16 and above the bridges 15 and 17 thereof, and extending in a continuous piece over the central or gullet part 3 within the space or depression formed by its body 4 and the ribs 5, as indicated in the dotted outline in Fig. 4 of the drawings. Thus a continuous piece may be employed without necessitating the cuttingor skiving away of the sides of the band, as heretofore, and thereby providing for additional strength of the saddle.

From an inspection of Figs. 2 and 4 it will be clearly evident that the cantle or seat 7 rests directly upon the lugs or projections 6 of the gullet 3, away from contact with the leather parts of the saddle and the jockey 24, which is properly fitted around the said lugs 6 to allow of the free movements of the sides of the saddle when placed upon the back of a horse or while in position upon the back of the horse. It will thus be evident that there will be no strain upon the patent-leather finish or enamel to crack the same, nor will there be any buckling or chafing of the leather surfaces against the under side of the seat or cantle with the various movements of the side pieces of the saddle.

This construction herein set forth of the parts of the saddletree admits of one size of saddle being fitted to the different shapes and widths of horses backs, and, furthermore, a neater and more comfortable saddle is the result and one which will not chafe or produce sores upon the back of the horse.

I am aware that changes may be made in the several arrangements. and combinations of the parts, as well as in the details of the construction thereof, without departing from the scope of my invention. Hence I do not limit my invention to the exact arrangements and combinations of the various parts as described in the foregoing specification and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings nor do I confine myself to the exact details of the construction of said parts.

Having thus described myinvention, what I claim is- 1. A saddletree consisting, of a gullet 3, ribs 5 on said gullet, a'pair of side plates 2, ribs 14 on said side plates, perforated ears on the ribs 5 and perforated ears on the ribs 14, and pivotal pins in said ears, substantially as and for the purposes set forth. v

2. The herein-described saddletree for a saddle, consisting, essentially, of a gullet 3 having ribs 5, and projections on said ribs for the support of a cantlethereon, perforated ears on said ribs 5, side plates 2 provided with perforated ears registering with the perforated ears of said ribs on said gullet, and pins in the said perforated ears for pivotally connecting the said side plates with said gullet, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony that I claim the invention set forth above I have hereunto set my hand this 4th day of March, 1901.

GEORGE WALKER.

Vitnesses:

FREDK. O. FRAENTZEL, EDWARD G. ROBERTSON. 

